Somedude21
01-29-2007, 09:04 AM
The Structural-Functionalist Approach
The Structural-Functionalist approach is a framework fro building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. As its name suggests, this approach points to social structure, any relatively stable pattern of social behavior. Social structure gives our lives shape--in families, the workplace, the classroom and the community. This approach also looks for a structure's social functions, the consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society as a whole. All social Structure, from a simple handshake to complicated religious rituals, functions to keep society going, at least in its present form.
The Social-Conflict Approach
The Social-Conflict approach is a framework for building a theory that sees society as an arena of inequety that generates conflict and change. Unlike the Structural-Functional emphasis on solidarity and stability, this approach highlights inequety and change. Guided by this approach, sociologists investigate how factors such as social class, race, ethnicity, gender sexual orientation, and age are linked to a society's unequal distribution of money, power, education and social prestige. A confilct analysis rejects the idea that social structre promotes the operation of society as a whole, focusing instead on how scoial patterns benefit some people while hurting others.
The Symbolic-Interaction Approach
The Symbolic-Interaction approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of everyday interactions of individuals. How does "society" result from the ongoing experiences of tens of millions of people? One answer, is that society is nothing more than the shared reality that people construct as they interact with one another. That is, human beings live in a world of symbols, attaching meaning to virtually everything, from the words you're reading on the computer screen to the wink of an eye. "Reality", therefore, is simply how we define our surroundings, our obligations toward others, and even our own identities.
The Structural-Functionalist approach is a framework fro building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. As its name suggests, this approach points to social structure, any relatively stable pattern of social behavior. Social structure gives our lives shape--in families, the workplace, the classroom and the community. This approach also looks for a structure's social functions, the consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society as a whole. All social Structure, from a simple handshake to complicated religious rituals, functions to keep society going, at least in its present form.
The Social-Conflict Approach
The Social-Conflict approach is a framework for building a theory that sees society as an arena of inequety that generates conflict and change. Unlike the Structural-Functional emphasis on solidarity and stability, this approach highlights inequety and change. Guided by this approach, sociologists investigate how factors such as social class, race, ethnicity, gender sexual orientation, and age are linked to a society's unequal distribution of money, power, education and social prestige. A confilct analysis rejects the idea that social structre promotes the operation of society as a whole, focusing instead on how scoial patterns benefit some people while hurting others.
The Symbolic-Interaction Approach
The Symbolic-Interaction approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of everyday interactions of individuals. How does "society" result from the ongoing experiences of tens of millions of people? One answer, is that society is nothing more than the shared reality that people construct as they interact with one another. That is, human beings live in a world of symbols, attaching meaning to virtually everything, from the words you're reading on the computer screen to the wink of an eye. "Reality", therefore, is simply how we define our surroundings, our obligations toward others, and even our own identities.